Approximately 3% of all births in the United States have some type of birth defect with the most common types being cardiac and neural tube defects.
January is National Birth Defect Prevention Month and while not all birth defects are preventable, there are many things that pregnant women and women trying to become pregnant can do to better their odds for a healthy pregnancy.
“As far as preventing birth defects, really a lot of it revolves on just focusing around a healthy lifestyle and maximizing healthy benefits of healthy habits – so avoiding things like cigarettes, alcohol, elicit drug use. Exercise and weight loss are important and if you have a baby that has a birth defect, it is important to be in consultation with not only your OBGYN, but also with a maternal fetal medicine specialist who can help fully evaluate the condition, help make the diagnosis, and help coordinate not only the obstetric care but the pediatric care after birth.”
As Dr. Kevin Worley mentioned, besides adjusting your daily habits, one of the best steps you can take to have a healthy pregnancy is to speak with your OBGYN and get regular checkups throughout the pregnancy.
“The majority of women have ultrasound examinations in pregnancy and we do screen for malformations every time we do an ultrasound examination, particularly around mid-pregnancy, what we call the anatomy exam where we look as carefully as we can at the organ systems to detect malformations.”
It is also important to start taking 400 micrograms of folic acid everyday in order to prevent neural tube defects and to speak with your doctor about adjusting any medications that you are currently on.
